


Trying And Change

by Siff



Category: Gokusen - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Gokusen 2 verse, Hayato and Ryu friendship, Kids fighting, More tags to be added, Other, Public Humiliation, Short Stories, Will perhaps not follow the cannon, just saying, like chill and talk to each other, more characters will be added, these kids have so many issues, this is my sandbox, will jump around in time like insane
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2020-02-09 06:53:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18633037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siff/pseuds/Siff
Summary: Small stories from before, during, and after the events of Gokusen 2.Focused on Odagiri Ryu but many others will also appear.





	1. Where Ryu wants to change

**Author's Note:**

> *Burst through the door to the fandom ten years too late with Starbucks and a bunch of poorly written stories*

He’s scared.

He doesn’t want to do this. He wants to run and hide, or laugh it off and tell them it was just a joke and continue behind the bar like nothing happened.

But he can’t. Not now.

They begin to circle him, with an air of annoyance and disappointment, and he keeps his eyes on the table before him and stands completely still. He knows what’s coming and he’s scared. These aren’t High Schoolers with too much attitude and free time. These men are dangerous.

He knew that going in of course. He had not cared. Or maybe he’d wanted it that way.

He had tried everything before that, had done everything, but it had never been enough. No matter what, it hadn’t helped. Instead, he had lost it all.

His friends wanted nothing to do with him. His classmates hated him. His teachers looked down on him.

His father didn’t look at all.

They looked here. Their jokes might be crude and their eyes dangerous, but they looked at him. They saw him as a child wanting to play gangster, but it hadn’t bothered him. They still let him work, told him secrets and treated him with other than hatred and anger.

It had been such a relief.

_Is that really where you belong?_

He knows the answer. Has always known. Still, it isn’t easy. It's scary and hard, and not easy at all, but he knows he has to do it.

So, he stands still as they walk around him. He doesn’t resist as they grab him and haul him into a car. The ride is short and uncomfortable, with hands constantly holding his arms too hard. His heart is beating wildly in his chest and he can barely breathe, but he doesn’t resist. When the car doors open, he doesn’t run.

They push and shove him through the doors which are locked with chains behind him, and suddenly he’s surrounded. They’re everywhere and he only knows a handful of the faces leering at him. Doesn’t matter in the end anyway. He has no friends here. He’s always known that.

“Ryu-chan wants to quit, boys,” says his former boss, and spreads out his arm to his men. They make a circle around him, closing in, and despite his whole body screaming at him to _run_ , he stays where he is, hands in pockets, eyes on the ground. 

He’s terrified, but…

_I won’t give up until you come back to school._

The first punch sends him to the ground, and when they pull him to his feet, he doesn’t resist. He doesn’t do anything but let them do as they want. He knew this is the price for leaving, he knew from the very first day. He’s terrified. It hurts.

But he lets them because this is the only way out.

And he wants out.

He wants to change.

By the time he has lost count of the hits, they have to hold him up. His legs won’t support him anymore, and there’s a darkness creeping in around his vision.

He doesn’t resist. He doesn’t fight back.

They suddenly drop him on the dirty ground, and he can barely lift his head to see what has stopped his beating. When he finally manages, he can barely believe his eyes.

She fights them. She fights them for him and they don’t stand a chance against her. It's an unbelievable sight, and he thinks he might be dreaming, or hallucinating. 

It isn’t until he wakes up on the grassy bank by the river that he realizes it’s real. It's all real.

He did it. He got out.

She helped him get out.

The house is empty when he gets home. His mother tends to travel with his father. The servants have gone home.

It’s nothing new.

He digs out the box hidden under his bed and begins to fix himself. He washes away the blood and puts bandages on the scrapes. The bruises on his chest and stomach are darkening but will heal. Nothing feels broken after all.

Then he goes to his closet.

It's clean and ironed, despite the servants knowing it was never meant to be used again. He takes it out and holds it in his hands. The last time he wore his uniform, Hayato and he had been fighting. Really fighting. Not just playful punches like before.

A real fight.

He can still remember the look on Hayato’s face. The anger.

It would be so easy to just put the uniform back and forget about it all. To find another job somewhere to the time he’d otherwise spend at school. To try to forget about his friends.

_I won’t betray you._

He can hear those words again and again in his head.

Even when the other teachers yell at him to leave. Even when his entire class gathers before him. Even when Hayato tells him he hasn’t forgiven him. Even when Hayato hits him and they once again fight, he can hear them.

He comes back to school.


	2. Where Take goes to Ryu

When the housekeeper knocks on his door and tells him a friend is here to see him, Ryu’s first thought is that someone died.

His friends don’t come to his home. He doesn’t let them, and even if he did, they wouldn’t come anyway. Hayato once called his house an ice castle, and Ryu is more than willing to agree.

That’s why he almost runs to the door, barely able to hold himself back. He’s also surprised to find Take standing in the hallway and not Hayato.

“Take?” he says, staring at his friend, who shifts nervously from one foot to another. He looks around like he knows he’s not welcome, which is true. Ryu can only thank the heavens that his parents aren’t home. Hanajima, the housekeeper, is aware of the fact as well, and seems even more nervous than Take, constantly wringing her hands together as she looks at Ryu, almost begging him to _do something_.

It makes Ryu wonder just what his father has ordered her to in case one of his ‘low-life’ friends ever showed up at the front door.

“We’ll go to my room,” Ryu says and tries to give Hanajima a reassuring look as he steers Take down the hallway.

It’s a small relief to close the door to his room. Take looks around a little wide-eyed, and Ryu realizes this is the first time in years that he has a friend in his room. He’s suddenly very aware of how white and bare the walls are.

“So,” he says and stuffs his hands into his pockets. “What’s up?”

Take doesn’t look him in the eye. He doesn’t have to. Take has always been the one to wear his emotion freely on his face. Ryu isn’t sure if it’s because he can’t hide them, or if he chooses not to. No matter what, it's all too clear that Take is upset.

Not sure what else to do, Ryu grabs him by the arm and directs him to the bed.

“What is it?” he says and sits down beside him. “Did something happen?”

Take shakes his head but then slowly changes it into a small nod. “Kinda.”

“What?”

Take chews on his lip, then takes a deep breath and looks up at Ryu. “I’m scared.”

Ryu draws back, surprised. “Of what?”

“The fight with Ara High.” He grabs Ryu’s arm, suddenly panicked. “I don’t mean to, but it’s a fight, and they said if we fight, we’ll be in trouble, and if I get in trouble…”

“Hey, easy,” says Ryu and holds on to Take, who clings to him. He knows who _they_ are. The teachers at school. The staff. They don’t know about the fight, but they suspect something is up. They’ve been more watchful over them lately. Threatening.

“I don’t want to be expelled,” Take says and there’s fear in his eyes. “I don’t want to. My mom, she’s… she… I can’t do that to her.”

Ryu is slightly horrified as the smaller boy begins to shake, and he does the only thing he can think of. He pulls him in. It’s not really a hug. Take’s head is resting on his shoulder, and his hands a buried in Ryu’s clothes, and he holds on as he shakes and mumbles.

For a moment, they just sit like that.

Ryu tries to think. Tries to find the right words to say, but words have never been his thing.

But he gets what Take is saying, what he’s afraid of. His mom is a very kind woman, always supporting him, no matter what trouble Take – or Ryu and the others – manages to get him in. And she always smiles. Always.

She smiles like she is happy. Ryu doesn’t think he’s ever seen his mother smile like that.

It’s where Take gets it from. The smile. The true, happy smile.

“I’ll deal with it.” The words leave his mouth before the idea is even formed in his head. Take stops shaking, freezes against Ryu. Slowly, he raises his head.

“What?” Take’s voice doesn’t sound right, and Ryu knows then something has to be done, no matter what.

“I’ll deal with it.”

Take’s eyes are impossibly wide, and Ryu is almost lost in the small glimmer of hope he can see in them. “Really?”

He nods. Take smiles, shortly and bright, but then he looks worried. “What are you going to do?”

Ryu isn’t sure. Several options are already swirling around in his head, but none seem like a good idea. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it.”

“Ryu…”

“You should go before my parents get home.”

Take doesn’t let go of his shirt. “Ryu?”

“It’s okay, Take. I’ll take care of it.”

He tries to sound reassuring, but the worried look in Take’s eyes never go away. It stays there as he walks him to the door. And it's there as they met at school the next day.

The whole class is pumped. With the fight only two days away, they can’t concentrate on anything else. It’s all they can talk about.

Ryu ignores the looks Take gives him during the day, and when school ends, he declines the others offer of going to the arcade, claiming his parents wants him home this evening. They don’t question it.

“Tomorrow we’ll talk tactics,” says Hayato, face alight with excitement. Ryu just nods as he leaves.

He knows Take is looking after him as he walks away, but he doesn’t turn around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have about twenty other ways this conversation went down, just saying, ya know...  
> The bowing itself will get a story too one day.


	3. Where they give a gift

“Where are you going?” asks Hayato and wraps himself around Ryu, who winces a bit and pushes him off.

“Nowhere.”

“Aha, not believing that.” Hayato falls into step with him, flashing him his best smile.

Ryu doesn’t answer. He just hoists his bag up higher on his shoulder and continues down the street. Hayato stays quiet as they walk, knowing Ryu won’t tell him where he’s going, so instead, he just lets Ryu take the lead, humming slightly.

It once bothered him that Ryu talked so little. When they were younger, he’d always thought Ryu was mad at him or something. It took a long time before he just accepted it as being a part of Ryu’s personality.

Now he finds it endearing. And a challenge.

He can’t remember when he realized that making Ryu smile would always be the highlight of his day. It just somehow came to be like that.

Like today, when Ryu had returned to the class, and Formation H had meant he’d been carried around by his friends, his smile had been brighter than Hayato had ever seen before.

And it is all thanks to her.

Hayato can’t help but smile a little at the thought. He, more than anyone, had been against her in the beginning. Now he can thank her for bringing his best friend back to him. And about a dozen other things as well.

As Ryu makes a sudden turn down another street, Hayato is drawn back to the present and has to run to catch up with him. Looking around, he can see it’s a shopping street, but not with the store Ryu normally goes to. They’re al very… girly.

Clothes, perfume, jewelry, and underwear fills the display windows in a whirl of pink and glitter and flowers. And there are women everywhere and, in every age, and in what Hayato might call a higher class than what he usually sees.

It’s a street filled with expensive brands, and he looks at Ryu more than confused. Ryu, however, avoids his gaze and instead eyes the stores with a slight frown before walking closer to a window to get a better look. Stunned, Hayato follows.

Ryu doesn’t spend much time browsing before moving on to the next store. It’s clear he’s searching for something specific, and Hayato can only follow him, desperately trying not to bump into the other shoppers, who all seem to wear clothes worth more than his family’s apartment.

Ryu finally stops in front of a smaller store that seems to hold a mix of everything from clothes to accessories. Hayato glances through the window. It's slightly less fancy than the rest of the street but still pretty pricy.

“Your girl has expensive tastes,” Hatato mutters and Ryu looks at him confused like he’s forgotten Hayato is even there.

“I don’t have a girl,” he says and looks back at the window.

“Right, you’re just shopping for your mother,” drawls Hayato, enjoying the glare Ryu gives him before entering the store. “Hey, wait!”

He follows him inside and is slightly stunned by the amount of pink he sees everywhere. He can’t help glance out of the window to make sure no one from their class has seen them entering.

Ryu walks around with a look of concentration. He eyes each shelf critically before moving on to the next. Hayato quickly goes to his side.

“What are you looking for?”

“Not sure,” says Ryu. Hayato sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

“If you tell me who it’s for, I might be able to help.”

To his surprise, Ryu blushes. Or rather, does the things that would equal a blush on other people. Like with everything regarding feelings, Ryu is far less noticeable and Hayato can probably only tell thanks to years of experience.

He grabs Ryu by the shoulder and turns him so they’re facing each other. “You do have a girl? Who is it? Is she from Momo High?”

Ryu shrugs him off, clearly annoyed, and averts his eyes. “It’s not like that.”

“Then who is it?” Hayato presses on. He can see the gears turning in Ryu’s head, contemplating if telling Hayato is a good thing or not.

“I want…” Ryu begins slowly, making Hayato lean in to catch every word. “I want to thank her.”

It then dawns on Hayato. “Yankumi?”

Ryu sticks his hands into his pocket and ducks his head, which is more than enough confirmation for Hayato.

“Why?” he demands to know, and can’t help but look around the store, eyeing the alarming number of female things, such as underwear and make-up.

“White Day,” says Ryu in a low voice. Hayato stares at him.

“But that was days ago.”

“Exactly,” says Ryu. “She got us chocolate, and… she really helped me.”

Understatement of the century in Hayato’s opinion, but is still trying to wrap his head around the idea of buying a teacher something. He gets the basic of it though. Yankumi did give them all chocolate. Good chocolate, despite how it had looked, and he guesses it is a tradition to give something back on White Day.

But she’s a teacher, he wants to say, but then realizes that’s no longer a valid excuse. She’s more than that. No teacher has ever done what she had done for them. Ever. Actually, she’s gone out of her way to help, no matter how crazy or how dangerous, or how it might affect her and her family.

It's still… strange, to buy a teacher a gift, but…

Hayato sighs and ruffles his hair, just to do something. “Yeah, I guess she did.” He says. Ryu looks up at him like he can’t quite believe that Hayato is agreeing with this. Which he barely is, for the record. He looks around and sees absolutely nothing someone like Yankumi would like.

It was all too girly.

“I don’t think you’ll fight anything in here,” he mutters. Ryu nods slowly, also giving the store a look. But then he taps Hayato on the arm and points towards the front desk, at a large keychain rack. One keychain catches his attention. The largest one.

“Damn,” he whispers and sees Ryu smirk out of the corner of his eyes.

 

~*~

 

Kumiko smiles and waves as the students leave the classroom.

She can’t help but sigh slightly in relief as it empties. Its been a while since she’s been looking forward to a weekend this much. She still has work to do, but after this week’s struggle, she’s more than ready to enjoy a quiet evening at home, and maybe even sleep in tomorrow.

But she’s not complaining. Despite everything that has happened – including the threat to her family – she regrets nothing.

No matter how much trouble her students are, they are _her_ students. And even if Odagiri’s father hadn’t given in in the end, she still wouldn’t regret her actions.

But he had given in, and Odagiri had returned to class. Seeing him once again beside his friends is worth it all. It makes her happy and once again reminds her why she loves her job.

And now they’re so close to graduation. So close, and she is determined to get them through it. No matter what!

“What are doing?”

“Eh?” she looks around. The classroom is empty, except for Odagiri and Yabuki, who stands before her, both frowning. She looks down herself and realized she has clenched her fists and is standing in a pose one can only call suitable for fighting. She quickly straightens up and puts her hands on her back. “Nothing, nothing! Not doing anything!”

Both boys look knowingly at her, and she’s once again reminded that they know about her. The truth. As do their friends. It also once again surprises her that they still don’t seem to mind.

“Aren’t you going home?” she asks, as always finding it better to change the subject when she’s caught acting like this. “School’s over for today.”

“Yeah,” says Yabuki and glances at Odagiri, whose face is a careful mask of indifference.

He doesn’t say anything, but reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls something out which he holds out to Kumiko.

It’s a small, colorful package with a string. She stares at it and then looks up at them. They both shift uncomfortably where they stand.

“What… what is this?”

“White Day was a few days ago, right”? says Yabuki and looks towards the door. Kumiko still doesn’t understand and gives Odagiri a questioning look. He clearly doesn’t have the patience for her to catch up and thrust the package into her hand.

“It's for the chocolate,” he mutters and then stalks past Yabuki and leaves the room. She stares after him, barely aware of her mouth hanging open.

“And for other things,” Yabuki adds before he flees as well.

She wants to call out to them, but her voice doesn’t work. She looks down at the package, blinking rapidly and almost expecting it to disappear any moment. It doesn’t.

It’s a gift for her. From her students.

She wonders slightly if it’s inappropriate to accept a gift from her students. Surely, she’s not supposed to have a friendship like that with them. But they said it was for the chocolate. A White Day gift.

“I guess it is tradition,” she says to herself and carefully opens the package. She is nervous as she does. What if it’s something really inappropriate, like jewelry, or money or–

“Oh,” she says, and can’t help but smile as the paper falls aside. It’s a keychain. Large enough to fill her entire palm and made from heavy metal. The front is blue, and written in large white letters are two words.

_Fight On_.

Grinning, she looks up at the door, knowing well the two boys will be long gone.

“Thank you,” she says and closes her hand around the keychain. “Thank you so much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my less believable headcanons, but what the hell. I like it and therefore I wrote it!
> 
> Also, Hayato is a bit hard for me to write. Hope I did him some justice at least.


	4. Where they fight

He throws open the door and it rattles loudly, making everyone look at him.

He ignores the few who bids him good morning and marches through the classroom, down to the back where Ryu sits in his chair, leaning back casually. Even before he reaches him, Hayato can see it in his face.

He can see it.

Ryu knows why Hayato is pissed, and he still remains seated as if nothing has happened.

It just pisses him off even more.

As soon as he reaches him, he grabs Ryu by the front of his t-shirt and pulls him out of his chair. Tsucchi says something but Hayato ignores him and brings his face close to Ryu, who doesn’t even flinch.

 _Tell me it's not true,_ he wants to say. _Please tell me it wasn’t you who did it._

Ryu just looks at him.

Gritting his teeth, he turns and pushes Ryu across the room, so hard he crashes into the teacher’s desk.

“Why?” he demands. “Why did you bow to them.”

Ryu straightens up slowly and turns around. He doesn’t really look at Hayato as he answers with a shrug. “Because a duel is stupid.”

“Stupid?” says Hayato. Of all the things Ryu could have said. Stupid.

After everything Ara High School has done to them. After all the fights, the attacks, the insults. All the blood and the bruises. They finally had a chance to end it all and Ryu calls it _stupid?_

_“You and me, right, Ryu?”_

_“You and me. Always.”_

Betrayal.

Hayato knows the feeling. But never, _ever_ , did he think it would come from Ryu. After all these years, all the fights where they _always_ had each other’s back, Ryu just goes and betrays them. Betrays him.

Ryu walks past him, heading for his seat in the back. Hayato grabs him by the jacket. “Don’t talk nonsense,” he snarls and punches him.

It’s not an action he’s thought through. He just does it, and seeing Ryu crash to the floor, with a moment of pure surprise on his face, feels terrible good. A rush goes through him even before Ryu gets up and fights back.

The others try to stop them. Take tries to get in between them but Ryu pushes him aside. Hayato has punched Ryu before but never like this. Never with the anger, he feels now, and the satisfaction he gets from it is cold and fleeting and not enough.

_Why? He wants to yells. Why did you do it? Why did you bow to them?_

_Why did you go behind my back?_

Ryu must be able to see it in his face. He can read him better than anyone, he understands him better than anyone, he must be able to see it. And yet, he looks away and stays quiet.

In the end, teachers have to separate them.

They’re both bruised and slightly feral when they are pulled apart. None of them say anything as they sit in the staffroom, several teachers standing before them, demanding to know the reason for the fight.

Hayato can’t even look at Ryu. He knows he’ll just jump at him again.

His jaw hurts. And his nose hurts.

His knuckles hurt.

He hurts.

It takes hours before they’re allowed to leave.

Ryu stops coming to school.

Hayato doesn’t care.

Take does. He keeps looking at Ryu’s empty chair and it's clear he misses him. Hayato doesn’t miss him. He doesn’t.

He doesn’t care.

He doesn’t.


	5. Where they're locked in

Hayato kicks the door, making it rattle loudly. “Dammit!” Beside him, Ryu slowly sinks to the ground, not able to hold himself up anymore. Hayato leans down and gets a hold of his arm. “Come on, you can’t sit there.”

“Can’t get out either,” Ryu mumbles. He lets Hayato help him off the floor and even leans against him. 

Hayato can’t help but worry now. Ryu doesn’t like leaning on people. 

“Come on,” he says and helps Ryu walk across the room. Every step sends an echo out across the darkness and Hayato can’t help but feel on edge. What the hell is Kudo thinking, locking them up in here?

He helps Ryu sit down on the ground by a pillar, and pretends he doesn’t see the way he winces. “I’ll look around,” he says. “See if there is another way out.”

There isn’t. The only other entrance aside from the gate is a door hidden in a corner, and of course, it's locked. Perhaps he could break it open with something but it will give more trouble than they’re already in. At least if someone finds them here, they can just say they got locked in by accident. A bit harder to explain a broken door.

“It’s no use,” he sighs and sits down beside Ryu. “I think we’re stuck here.”

Ryu doesn’t say anything. His eyes are closed and he’s a little too focused on his breathing for Hayato’s liking. But he also knows Ryu won’t ever tell him how bad it is, no matter what. It’s always annoyed him to hell and back. 

And it worries him even more because he knows Kudo. Even back before he got expelled he was violent, enough to make Hayato think it was scary. Back then fighting had become a part of their lives, a thing they all did to get through a world that seems to do nothing but hate them. But Kudo had always taken it too far. 

Hayato thought his heart had stopped when he heard Kudo’s voice in his phone instead of Ryu’s. The worst possible scenario had gone through his head, and his relief when finding Ryu had almost knocked him down. 

It’s still too easy though. Kudo is planning something and Hayato has no idea what. 

Beside him, Ryu shifts and can’t hold back a soft moan. 

“You okay?”

Ryu nods. “Yeah.”

“Don’t lie to me.” Ryu gives him a look and he can see the annoyance written all over his face.  “I mean it,” he says and points at the bruises on Ryu’s face. “That can’t be all he did.”

Ryu looks away, clearly not liking it, and to Hayato surprise, gestures towards his stomach. 

Barely believing that Ryu actually admits he’s hurt for once, Hayato slowly reaches out and tugs at Ryu’s t-shirt. He doesn’t have to lift it up very far before the damage shows itself. Hayato hisses in sympathy. He digs out his cellphone and shines the light on the bruises, breathing a little easier when it's clear it's not as bad as he thought at first. 

“Anything else?”

“No.”

He doesn’t quite believe him but isn’t eager to push his luck just yet. Despite everything being fixed between them he can still feel how fragile it is, being them again. 

“Right,” he says and leans back against a stack of boxes. He turns off the light and moves his phone from hand to hand. There’s still no signal. He regrets not calling the others the second Kudo hung up. 

His only comfort is that Tsucchi, Take and Hyuuga at least got away, otherwise Kudo would have dumped them down here as well. Small miracles, he guesses.

“I don’t think they’re coming back for us,” says Ryu suddenly after an eternity of silent waiting. 

“He can’t just leave us here,” says Hayato. Ryu shrugs slightly. He clearly thinks worse of Kudo than Hayato does. “He can’t. Besides, the others know we ran into them. They’ll figure it all out and find us.”

Ryu huffs out a small laugh. “And she will break down the door.”

“What?”

“Never mind,” says Ryu and he sounds sleepy now. “No one is that strong anyway.” 

Hayato eyes him with worry now. Ryu is talking total nonsense. He also keeps nodding off only to jerk awake. 

“Sleep,” he finally tells him. “I’ll wake up you up if… if anything happens.”

The look Ryu gives him is utterly exhausted. “What if Kudo comes back?”

“I told you I’ll wake you, okay? They won’t get us again.”

Ryu doesn’t look convinced, but he still nods and leans his head back and closes his eyes. Hayato watches him for a second until his breathing becomes even and his shoulders relax slightly. Then he sighs and lets his own head fall back. 

If they come back, he decides, he’ll protect Ryu no matter what. He won’t let Kudo get to him. He keeps repeating that thought in his head all through the night. 

Ryu sleeps and Kudo doesn’t show up.

When the gate finally opens, there’s no one waiting for them on the other side. It feels too easy. Still, Hayato doesn’t hesitate in getting them out. It’s a relief, right up until they’re surrounded by the police. 


	6. Where Ryu bows

Ryu sticks out like a dark shadow in the sea of blue uniforms. 

The warehouse is the worst place he could ever be at the moment but he doesn’t have any other choices. He can still see Take’s face before him, the pleading look in his eyes. He’d come to Ryu for help and there was only one thing he could think of doing.

Right now, he really wishes he had thought of something better, but there’s no turning back now. 

The students of Ara High surround him, all cocky and leering. There had been no small amount of surprise when he’d showed up. Especially when they realized he was alone. Even now, standing before all of them, they’re all brandishing their weapons like they expect an attack at any moment. 

“Where's your little friends?” Shibuya asks. He has changed a bit since the last time. He dyed his hair red and there’s a piercing in his eyebrow, but he still looks just as arrogant as always

“I told you I came alone,” says Ryu. Shibuya snorts.

“Right,” he drawls. “Like you and Yabuki ever did anything without each other. Where is he hiding?” He looks around like he’s expecting Hayato to jump out.

“I came alone,” Ryu says. “To ask a favor and… to apologize.”

Shibuya looks dumbfounded for a moment and then he throws his head back and laughs. His classmates follow suit. “What? You come to apologize? How dumb are you?”

Ryu ignores the question. He isn’t sure of the answer anymore. “Yes. I want to apologize for my class’s behavior and ask you to call off the fight.”

The laughter stops immediately. Everyone stares at him. Shibuya takes a step forward.

“You want to call off the fight?”

Ryu nods.

Shibuya looks truly baffled. He looks over his shoulder at a boy who just shrugs, looking just as confused. Then he turns back to Ryu, angry. “Stop fucking with me.”

“I’m not,” says Ryu. Shibuya looks at him, intensely. And then he finally seems to belive Ryu.

“You’re serious. You want to end it all now.”

Ryu nods. 

“All right then,” says Shibuya with a smug grin. “Apologize to me.”

Ryu ignores the whispers coming from around him and keeps his eyes on Shibuya, who watches him like with glee.   

Taking a deep breath, Ryu keeps his back straight as he slowly bows deeply before Shibuya. As he does, a thick silence falls over the room. 

“I apologize on the behalf of Kurogin, and ask you to call off the fight.” The words feel wrong in his mouth but Ryu says them anyway. He glances up through the strands of his hair and sees the slightly dumfounded look on Shibuya’s face. He truly didn’t believe Ryu would actually apologize. Ryu swallows and lowers his eyes. “Please,” he adds and keeps his head down. 

The whispers begin again, this time hesitant and unsure. Ryu waits. 

“I don’t know,” says Shibuya finally, and Ryu grows tense at his words. “This doesn’t really feel… heartfelt, you know? Does it, boys?”

“Nope,” someone says from behind Ryu. They laugh.

“Didn’t think so,” says Shibuya. Ryu stays where he is, even when he sees Shibuya’s shoes step into his vision, too close to comfort. His hands curl together by his side as he suddenly feels breath hit his cheek. “You know, Odagiri, it’s really hard to believe this isn’t a trick. I’m not really convinced you’re truly sorry.”

Everything inside Ryu screams at him to straighten up and hit this idiot. To beat him to the floor and wipe that stupid grin off his face. But he isn’t stupid. Or maybe he is, but not like this. Shibuya’s whole gang is waiting for him to snap, to just give them an excuse, and he knows they won’t need much. 

He won’t give them anything. 

He stays silent, doesn’t move, not even when Shibuya places a hand on his shoulder and pushes slightly. Realizing what he wants, Ryu closes his eyes. 

Hayato will kill him for this. 

He thinks of Take as he slowly sinks down to his knees. The dust on the floor immediately clings to the dark fabric of his clothes. His pulse quickens, and the floor is cold beneath his fingers as he puts his hands before him and lowers his head.

“Please,” he says. “Please call off the fight.”

After a very short stunned silence, laughter breaks out. They shout and grin, and call him names, but he ignores them. Shibuya squats before him. “Not convinced,” he says.

Humiliation burns through him, cold and sharp, and Ryu’s hands shake against the dusty floor. He bows a bit lower, but then he feels the shape of a boot on the back of his neck and his head is pushed down against the floor until it's pressed against it.

He grits his teeth but doesn’t resist the rough treatment. His forehead is pressed forcefully against the floor, and he nearly coughs as dust fills his nostrils and mouth. Shibuya makes a mocking sound but Ryu stays like that, even when the foot is removed from his neck. 

“Try again,” Shibuya whispers closely to his ear.

“Please,” says Ryu as loud and clear as he can. “Please call off the fight.”

“Hmm…” Shibuya draws it out, probably playing it up for all it’s worth in front of the others. But then, finally. “All right. I’ll call it off,” Shibuya says. There’re no protests coming from his friends, so Ryu guesses they’ve enjoyed the show. A hand pats him on the head like he’s a dog. “I’ll see you around, Odagiri.”

He stays where he is until the last sound of footsteps and laughter is gone, and then he raises his head. He keeps his eyes on the floor as he sits up. There’s dust everywhere. On his trousers, his hands, even in his hair. He reaches up and touches his forehead. He can feel the marks the rough surface of the floor has left on his skin, and when he brushes his fingers over it, more dust falls.

Aside from a slight pain in his knees, Ryu just feels numbs as he gets up from the floor. He’s alone, but can’t help look around. The warehouse is empty. 

He leaves it quietly and hurries home, where there’s no one to ask about the dust on his clothes. 

The next day, he and Hayato have the worst fight in all the years of their friendship. 


	7. Where Ryu asks

The house looks the same.

Ryu was struck by how unchanged it was when Yankumi invited him home for dinner. He’d been nervous about returning. The last time he was here, it had been the worst and best moment of his life. Hearing his father threaten Yankumi and her family because of him had been close to a waking nightmare. But then, the support from her, from his friends…

Kneeling before his father, begging him to let him go to school was the hardest thing Ryu had ever done. Harder than lying to his friends, harder than bowing to Ara High. It was almost as hard as running away from home the night before, except it wasn’t shame that threatened to choke him this time. It was fear.

Still, he had done it, and the worst day of his life became the best.

He had realized something that morning, as he left with his parents, and now he is finally ready to do something about it. Still, it takes him almost twenty minutes to build up the courage to knock on the door.

It’s strange being here without Yankumi. It almost feels like he’s sneaking around her back, keeping secrets. It doesn’t make it better that he knows she will disapprove of this. He thinks back to the time he and Hayato randomly discovered the truth about her family. She’d been so nervous. They all had, willing to beg them to keep it a secret.

Now he’s almost sitting in the exact same spot as he did back then. Only difference is that the table is absent, and he’s sitting alone with Yankumi’s grandfather.

The man himself has changed more than the house has. His hair is more white than grey, and there are more lines around his mouth and eyes. But despite the clear signs, no one would be able to guess the man has aged a day judging by his behavior. He sits with a straight back, dressed respectfully in grey yukata, and watches Ryu with eyes that seem sharper than even Yankumi’s.

The leader of the Oedo group is still strong, and it shows. Had Ryu not already had several pleasant conversations with the man, he’d be scared out of his mind.

Well, he still is. But more than that, he simply has a deep respect for the older man.

To his right, hovering on the border between the neighbor room sits Sugawara, Tatsukawa and Asakura. The three men, who normally have nothing but kindness for Ryu, are all staring at him. Kuroda told them to kindly leave the two of them alone, but Ryu never believed for a second that they would miss this conversation, no matter what their leader told them. It was no surprise when the door had been opened and three stunned faces suddenly appeared.

It’s really Ryu’s own fault in the end. He probably should have chosen a better opening line.

“You want to join the family.” It’s not a question. Kurada is merely repeating what Ryu said.

Ryu swallows with difficulty and nods. “Yes.”

Kuroda looks at Ryu for a long time. It's unsettling. He has the same eyes as Yankumi. Eyes that just _see_ what’s there. What’s truly there. But unlike Yankumi, who Ryu knows has nothing but love towards her former student, her grandfather is a wildcard.

Ryu knew this going in, and he still knelt before the man and stated his requests. He doesn’t regret it.

“You are aware of what this family truly is and what it does,” says Kuroda, and again, it’s not a question. Ryu knows. Has known for years. “And still you want to join.”

“Yes,” says Ryu and is very proud that his voice remains calm and steady. He takes a deep breath and looks into Kuroda’s eyes. “But not yet.”

A white eyebrow twitches up a bit. “Oh?”

“I wish to join the day Yankumi takes over the role of leader.”

There’s a whisper coming from the other room, followed by a slapping sound and a yelp. Ryu doesn’t look at them, determined to keep his attention on Kuroda. This is it.

“You wish to serve under my granddaughter, but not me?” There’s a brewing anger in Kuroda’s voice and Ryu quickly jumps to his own defense.

“I mean no disrespect,” he says and bows his head. “I merely meant that–“

“I know what you meant,” interrupts Kuroda, and the authority in his voice almost makes Ryu flinch. “You are not the first of her former students to become… loyal to her, to a degree some might call worryingly.”

Ryu’s clenches his hands on his thighs. “Sir, I–“

“You are the first, however, to come to my home and offer your service to my successor.” Kuroda’s expression is carved in stone and just as unreadable. Ryu’s heartbeat begins to quicken and he suddenly feels the urge to run. But he can’t back down, not now.

He bows his head deeper, making sure to show how he respects the man. “Yes, Sir,” he says, for it is the truth in the end.

Kuroda is silent.

Ryu counts his heartbeats, not daring to raise his head.

_Five… six… ten… fourteen…_

“Are you in love with my granddaughter?”

The question is asked without anger or threat. Instead, there’s only a mild curiosity to hear. It still makes Ryu lift his head so fast his neck makes a creaking sound. He stares at Kuroda, mouth agape.

Maybe he should have expected that question. Come to think of it, yeah, he really should have expected it. After all, it’s a natural conclusion to come to. Yankumi is a beautiful woman, and it would be far from strange if he, a former student whose ass she saved more times than anyone could possibly count, is in love with her.

Yeah, he should have expected the question, but he hadn’t. Thankfully the answer is quite simple.

“No,” he says and sits up straight again. He has a feeling this will require a show of strength. “But I do love her.”

The sound of a katana being drawn from its sheath is impossibly loud. Ryu whips his head to the side and sees Sugawara stand in the doorway, a murderous look on his face and blade raised. He raises a hand to shield himself, just as Kuroda merely lifts a hand in Sugawara’s direction without even looking at him. The order is silent but Sugawara reacts immediately. He kneels back on the floor with the katana resting on his knees and stares intensely at Ryu.

Ryu grabs the fabric of his trousers and hopes they can’t see how his hands are shaking. With a dry mouth, he slowly looks back at Kuroda, who is the pure picture of calmness.

“You love her?” he asks, and there is a demand for an answer in his voice.

Ryu nods a little shakenly. “I do. But I’m not… _in love_ with her.”

Kuroda’s eyes are intense. He nods at Ryu, giving him permission to explain.

“I do love her,” Ryu says, grabbing this chance to set things straight. “But not like that. I… I respect her. More than anyone else. She… saved me. She brought me back to school and back to my friends.” His voice grows stronger as he talks. As does his confidence. “She helped all of us show the world that we’re more than just stupid kids. And she helped us believe in it ourselves. And she did it because she wanted to. She wanted to help us. There was nothing else. She just… cared about us.” Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see movement. For a second, he imagines the sharp blade of a katana resting against his neck, but it doesn’t stop him. Not now.

“I thought I wanted to be a teacher because I wanted to do what she did. But I was wrong. It never felt… right.” He makes sure to look into Kuroda’s eyes now. He needs the man to understand how he really feels about all this. “Not until we ended up at the same school. With everything that happened, I realized that… I realized I only wanted to be beside her. I only wanted to be a teacher because it reminded me of her. And when we fought… when she let herself be beaten because of me…”

He closes his eyes. He can still see it so clearly. Her on the stage, surrounded and on her knees, being hit again and again despite his pleas to her to just fight. To forget about him and the knife pressed against his throat. The guilt threatens to choke him.

He will never forget it. Never.

Kuroda’s eyes are so intense. He stares mercilessly at Ryu until he finally has to look down.

It’s too much. The guilt, the memory. Her eyes, the same as her grandfather’s.

Ryu’s knuckles turn white.

“She let herself get hurt because of me,” he says, and now his voice is shaking. He clenches his eyes shut. “If… if someone she cares about is in danger, she will fight or… or let herself take the pain. I don’t want that to happen again.” He opens his eyes and looks up at Kuroda. “But she will. She will let her all her bones be broken if it can protect her students, and I can’t let that happen. I won’t. If she won’t protect herself, then someone else has to.”

Ryu is breathing hard now. He looks up and holds Kuroda’s eyes for as long as he can before he has to drop his gaze.

“Kumiko,” says Kuroda slowly and Ryu can’t help but tense, “would not want her former student to become her shield.”

Ryu looks up. “But–“

“Neither,” continues Kuroda, cutting Ryu off, “would she want her former student to become a part of… this world.”

Ryu can feel panic begin to build in his chest. Please, no…

“She knows how dangerous our lives are. She has been trained for it since childhood after all. And she would rather suffer pain a thousand times before she let anyone, and especially you, become a part of it. And you know this, which is why you are asking me, and not her.”

Ryu stares at his hands, feeling the weight of Kuroda’s word settle on him. A numbness he hasn’t felt in years begins to spread inside him.

 _Please_ …

“Normally I respect her choices, even if I sometimes disagree with them. But…”

Ryu slowly looks up.

Kuroda suddenly seems old. Very old. Like a man who has carried a weight on his shoulders for his entire life. But his eyes are soft and warm when he looks at Ryu, almost pleading. “But she is the last relative I have,” he says. “The last of my blood. And when the day comes when she must leave her job and no longer do what she loves the most, I would be happy to know there is someone there who knows her for who she truly is.”

Ryu’s heart goes into a breakneck speed. Then… does that mean?

“You must understand that when she becomes the head of the family, the choice is hers in the end,” says Kuroda. “I will say good for you if you want, but the decision is hers. Do you understand?”

It’s not a guarantee, but it’s not a dismissive either. Ryu can feel a smile form on his lips and quickly bows deeply. “I understand. Thank you, Sir.”

“There’s also the matter of your father.”

Ryu’s whole body freezes to the spot.

“No matter how loyal you are to her, your father is still strongly connected to the police. It’s a danger to all of us.”

“It… it won’t be,” Ryu says and slowly sits up again. “I won’t let it.”

“That’s not something you can promise.”

“I won’t let it!” Ryu says firmly. “I will do whatever I must to stay by her side, to keep her safe. I’ll do everything.”

Kuroda hums slightly to himself. “We’ll see,” he says. “Hopefully, there are still many years until such decisions will have to be made. I suggest you take the time to truly think of what you’re promising.”

“I will,” says Ryu. “But I won’t change my mind.”

For the first time, there’s a smile to see on Kuroda’s lips. “We’ll see, boy. We’ll see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo... I'm playing around with another story with Ryu and his first (and only) shot at being a teacher. It's still very much underway, but I know the route... I think, along with the end destination. Anyway, this is the first little step he makes to end up where I think he belongs.
> 
> Thanks for reading


	8. Where Hayato makes a promise

Aside from the heavy breathing and soft moans from the other boys, the warehouse is very quiet. Outside, the sound from the police might as well not exists. It seems so far away from them at this moment.

The only thing that matters to any of them right now, is Yankumi.

She’s kneeling in the middle of them, hands elegantly displayed on her thighs, her hair hanging loosely around her face. Her glasses are gone.

For most of them, it’s the first time seeing this side of her. The initial shock of seeing their teacher being outnumbered and still win the fight has passed as they all think the same. They broke their promise.

They failed her, and despite her words, the guilt is heavy in the air.

Yankumi isn’t one for letting things just be, however, and she suddenly slaps her hands on her thighs and gets up from the dirty ground. “Well, no use sitting here now. You’ll all just get a cold.” She turns around and faces them. Despite looking very different from the woman they see during class; her smile and eyes are the same. Warm and caring.

She looks them over before taking a deep breath. “We can’t have you look like that at graduation now, can we.”

A ripple of movement goes through the boys. They glance at each other – Hayato finds Ryu’s eyes without even thinking about it – and they all think the same.

Are they really allowed to attend graduation now?

Before anyone can ask any questions though, Yankumi begins to herd them off the floor and out of the warehouse, all the while commenting on useless, trivial matters, like her entire class isn’t bleeding and bruised right before her.

“This way,” she says and points in a random direction. “I know a good place.”

They follow. Hayato can see it in his classmates’ eyes. They follow her without question. Tsucchi has to carry Take on his back. The smaller boy can barely stand, but he’s less prideful than Hayato or the others and accepts the help when his legs give out. Tsucchi carries him with ease, despite the pain he must be in.

Hayato gravitates to Ryu’s side, again without really thinking about it. The two of them take their time leaving the warehouse. They’re the leaders of the class after all. They need to make sure everyone follows wherever Yankumi takes them. Limping, moaning, leaning on each other, the boys slowly leave the dusty warehouse and soon its only Hayato and Ryu left.

“Let’s go,” says Ryu after giving the place one last look. Hayato follows suit and his eyes land on a metal rod on the floor.

The same rod Yankumi pulled from Kudo’s hands. The same rod Kudo almost used to…

“Hayato?”

He looks up, startled at the feeling of a hand on his shoulder. Ryu is standing close, so close that Hayato can see every cut on his face, every blooming bruise and smear of blood, and knows Ryu can see his injuries as well. It’s a painfully familiar look, despite it being worse than ever before.

But no matter how much blood or how many bruises, Ryu is here. He’s right here, alive and breathing and not lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood with a metal rod sticking out of his skull.

The thought threatens to choke him. He reaches out to grab Ryu by the jacket. Ryu winces almost violently, but he’s either in too much pain or perhaps just too exhausted to do anything but place his own hand over Hayato’s.

Hayato doesn’t notice. The image is too bright in his mind and he can’t breathe. It begins to play over and over, like a nightmare. A nightmare specially made for him.

The look on Kudo’s face when he realized Hayato was forced to watch… it’s burned into his mind. The expression of pure glee as a hand in Hayato’s hair kept him still. The grin as he looked down at a pinned Ryu. The metal rod being raised into the air–

He jerks back as a hand touches the back of his neck. His eyes are wide as they stare at Ryu who is so close, so very close, leaning in so their noses almost touch. “Hayato, breathe.”

He obeys and only then realizes he has trouble doing so. He takes a few long breaths and concentrates on the hand on the back of his head. It's tangled in his hair. It's grounding. He looks at Ryu.

“I tried…” The words get stuck in his throat. His hand is still grabbing Ryu’s jacket and he tightens his hold. “When Kudo… I tried…”

“I know,” Ryu says and his voice is so low. Hayato blinks at him. “I heard you.”

He closes his eyes. Right. He yelled at Kudo to stop. He didn’t.

Yankumi stopped it. She stopped it.

Ryu is okay.

Whatever strength Hayato has left, leaves him there. His head falls forward and lands on Ryu’s shoulder. The hand on his neck doesn’t let go.

“Next time, I’ll stop him,” Hayato says. The hand is warm on his neck.

He knows he slow to learn, painfully slow sometimes, but this promise he won't break. He told his dad he needed to find out what he wanted to protect, and he did.

He’s slow, but he does learn.

“I promise,” he whispers.

Ryu doesn’t say anything. It's one of the things Hayato has always liked about him. He knows when words aren’t needed.

Instead, he wraps his arm around Hayato’s shoulder and pulls him closer. Hayato lets go of his jacket and sneaks his arms around Ryu’s middle.

It hurts. Everything hurts, but it doesn’t matter.

“Hey, you two!”

They both look up so suddenly, their heads smack together. They break apart, and Hayato rubs the sore spot on his forehead and looks towards the door. Yankumi is standing there, a knowing smile on her lips. “The others are waiting. They won’t leave without you, so you should hurry.”

They glance at each other, and Hayato can feel his cheeks heat up. Ryu doesn’t blush but looks away, still rubbing the spot on his scalp where their heads smacked together.

“Let’s go,” Ryu mumbles and nudges Hayato with an elbow.

They support each other as they leave the warehouse. Walking is painful, but Hayato can’t help but smile.

Yankumi takes them and the entire class to a small clinic. She tells them that she knows the owner and that he won’t ask too many questions. Hayato and Ryu glance at each other and then give their friends warning looks. If this is somehow connected to Yankumi’s… family business, they must do their part and keep their mouths shut.

It takes hours until they have all been seen to, but everything seems a bit less horrible with a bandage on it. Yankumi makes sure they all get home safely, and there’s not one boy who doesn’t thank her before they leave.

No one says it, but they all think the same. What will happen tomorrow?

Yankumi is nothing but smiles and hair-ruffles, but Hayato can see it in her as well. The worry. Ryu can see it too, he knows. So, when they look at each other, there’s an agreement.

Whatever happens tomorrow, they’ll face it in a way Yankumi can be proud of. So, she can be proud of them.

No more broken promises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeeaaah, these two will be a couple, just not yet. Someday, when they a bit older and a bit smarter.

**Author's Note:**

> I found this wonderful Drama a month or so ago, and not since Force Awakens have I fallen in love with a character this fast. All of the characters actually. Damn the show is good.


End file.
